Finishing the Year Fit And Strong

Are you one of those people who does New Year's resolutions?  THIS! is going to be the year I become the person I want to be. I'll start (pick new habit) or I'll quit (pick bad habit). I'll lose X lb. For 2 weeks you'll be motivated and by Martin Luther King day, you're back to your December persona.

Do you have a case of Screw-it-itis in December and let the foot off the pedal at work, hit the party circuit, and let the diet go? 

Have you ever finished the year at 100% capacity with momentum to fly into the next year. Or done both depending upon the year?  

I answer yes to all these questions. This year I'm choosing finishing the year with momentum and at full throttle. 

The catalyst to this is Hawaii in Mid-November. Went to a benefits/labor convention.  It was my 2nd time out there in 4 months.  I had a FANTASTIC time. My room faced the Pacific Ocean with a balcony at the Waikiki Sheraton.  Post convention there were parties galore with all the free food and drink you would want. Weather was 80 degrees with sun showers every day. I had the best steak of my life at Signature Prime. And finally, went to Pearl Harbor and saw my great uncle's plane at the Aviation Museum.  Pro tip, go to the USS Missouri first.  

It was great, and yes I did go to the gym every day. Walked 20,000 steps a day between the treadmill and too and from the convention center.  I wore out a path on Kalakaua Avenue.  But by day 4 I had had enough of the parties. Let's put it this way. The first full day was Sunday and my buddy and I found a sports bar to watch the NFL.  We were drinking beers at 8 AM.  At the convention, there is a LinkedIn photo of me.  My best friend called me after it posted saying, "Love knowing you were 4 beers deep when that was taken."  Terrific.  So the 4th night, we are at a rooftop bar and they were handing out complimentary Mai Tais.  I took 3 small sips and said, "I'm not doing this tonight,." and pounded water. Woke up feeling great.

Traveled home and arrived at my house on a Thursday and was junk for a couple of days between lack of sleep, fun and on an airplane for 11 hours. Decided middle of the month to turn it around.  

1. No alcohol. Been 3 weeks. Feel great, workouts off the charts good, hyper focused, and sleeping great.

2. A regular sleep schedule.  I always sleep 7-8 hours a night, But I wanted a consistent schedule. Meaning I'm in bed by 10 PM at the latest. Read 2-3 chapters of my Kindle, hit the bathroom one more time, and lights out by 10:30. In the last 3 weeks the only time I've broken this was last Monday watching the Patriots game.  This includes weekends. I awake naturally without alarms. Had 9 + hours sleep Saturday night.

3. Really focusing on my workouts.  Having a plan, not being lazy because I don't want to load the barbell to deadlift, and focusing on every rep.  Stopping with one rep in the tank and without pain.  Focusing on my conditioning using sleds, Ski Erg, Echo Bike or treadmill running. Not mailing it in.

The numbers are going up in my lifts and my conditioning is excellent.  Running 5 miles on the treadmill with a 1 degree incline in 44 minutes. (sub 9 minute miles), finishing 10 rounds of Ski Erg/Echo Bike sprints (more on that in a minute.) and pushing the Prowler combined with 300 two hand swings with a 70 lb. bell. 

I received a great tip from my work colleague about the Echo Bike. He is Captain CrossFit in Kansas City and tries to break Assault/Echo Bikes. I was complaining my quads get the shakes when I'm done. He advised me to lift the seat up one more rung.  The higher the seat, the more it focuses on hamstrings and glutes vs. quads.  THIS is a complete game changer. My wattage for sprints are at least 25 % higher with the higher seat.  Sure it still is a gasser, but it alleviated a lot of fatigue.

I ended up going back to me old gym as it is obvious to see from above.  Ran into a guy there who is older but always in good shape.  Saw him for the 1st time in 5 months and he looked great.  Slimmed down. I told him he looked awesome.  He told me he quit drinking and lost 20 lb. He became my inspiration.  I actually thanked him last week and told him so.  The only thing I'm not doing as much is outdoor walking.  I can deal with cold, it's the wind I can't stand.  Moving South next year is an active conversation that my wife and I are having. 

How's the diet?  Well, about a 6 out of 10.  Not terrible, but not great. I've lost 2-3 lb. I eat too much.  Not crap, because we don't have any in the house. I only eat out once per week.  Would like to push this to about a 7.5-8. I have some lunches coming up and a party with friends, so that's realistic.  If I don't booze, I let myself eat at parties.  Decided today was the day to start on cleaning up the diet.  23 hours into a 40 hour fast, 18 of which will be dry. From just before Noon today, until I wake up around 6.  

I've incorporated 24 hour dry fasting this year 3 or so times.  I like it from the time I start until, I go to bed.  I'm not thirsty and get through it easier than with water.  But it's bloody awful from when you wake up until the 24 hour mark. Say at 9:30 AM. So I'm adjusting that down to 18-20 hours.  When I wake up, have a glass of water. let that settle in so I don't feel lethargic and then black coffee.  So I'll get 75% of the benefits vs. 100.  Live to fight another day. 

Next big trip is Sales Kickoff in San Diego on January 4. It will be the 9th time since June 2024 that I've surpassed 2 time zones flying across the country. I wish it were in Las Vegas like our meetings in October, but what can you do?  The weather will be nicer than the 21 degrees we have her in Massachusetts as I type on December 8.  Hopefully I'll be under 190 lb.  Stay tuned. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

A Tale of Two Gyms

Current status: Flying over Rural Iowa on my way to Las Vegas for corporate meetings.

Figured with 2.5 more hours to kill, a new edition to this blog would be time better spent than arguing with people in the Boston Globe comments section. The most entertaining 99 cent subscription you can purchase by the way. It would be worth it just doing the Sunday crossword puzzle.  Throw in hysterical Democrats and it makes it all the more fun. It's my only form of social media along with the loathsome LinkedIn, which is a necessity but the WORST of all of them. I shut down Facebook, X, and Instagram. All of them are time sucks. 

With a bridge shutdown bringing absolute gridlock to the neighboring town, I decided to put my membership on hold at my gym and rejoin Planet Fitness with its Black Card membership. The hold lasts 3 months and ends November 1. My Planet Fitness membership ends on November 17.

The bridge was supposed to be ready on October 15, but even though they are close to finishing, the union motto is "don't kill the job." So it's not quite ready yet. I've settled in pretty well at PF.  The one I go to has limited and old equipment. It' 5 minutes from my house and I've renewed acquaintances with old friends and having good workouts. There is SUCH a convenience factor to it. Plus throw in the Black Card, I can bring a guest, usually my wife. And have used 5 different gyms with the Black Card while traveling for work or on vacation. I used it in Salem, OR, nicest PF I've ever been to.  Three in Naples, FL while on vacation and finally in North Adams, MA where I went to college after an overnight stay. We hiked Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. 

But it does have its drawbacks: 

Limited equipment: Dumbbells up to only 75 lb. Poorly made kettlebells up to 30 lb. I only use the treadmills and Stairmasters, of which a 1/3  are broken.  Crappy locker room.  and HORRIFIC gym etiquette. People stealing your machines. Or leaving dumbbells on weight benches along with their water bottle and using it as a shelf. Doing an exercise in front of the dumbbell rack. And yes, I have policed the area by telling them that's not what the bench is for. Handing out judicial rulings in the judgement free zone.  But with all that, I've been told by 2 people that I look, "very fit." So it's working along with my diet.

The Gym, yes that is the name fo the place, has 25 yards of turf to push a sled, Echo Bike, Ski Erg, plenty of new treadmills, Stairmasters and kettlebells up to 48kg/106 lb. For the record, the 106 lb. kettlebell if you've never swung or picked one up, is astoundingly heavy. I do swings with it from time to time. Back in the old days I could push press an 88 lb kettlebell, strict press an 80 and do Turkish Getups with an 88.  I don't think at the peak of my strength I could straighten my arm over my head to even BEGIN the TGU. 

The Gym also has squat racks, deadlift platforms, heavy dumbbells and barbells.  As a guy at PF said, "The Gym is where you get jacked, Planet Fitness is where you get 'fit'."  They also just re-did the locker rooms after 25 years and have a sauna. Yes, the old wall to wall carpet was absolutely disgusting. I horrified my 22 year old son walking barefoot on it. I have a ton of friends there. Lots of trash talk about politics, sports and investments. Also, a physical therapy clinic where they let you use the bands and PVC pipe rollers.

Again it has it's drawbacks

$40/month vs. $25. Not a big deal because I go every day. It also is 12-20 minutes each way depending on when the bridge will be fixed.  I question whether I really need all of it. Finally etiquette can be lacking as well. People stretching on the turf field horizontally instead of vertically. Which means they take up the width of the field and you're playing Frogger if you push the sled.  The sauna can be a challenge.  Guys blowing snot rockets, or doing hot yoga in there instead of just sitting quietly. Yes, I've told some meatball  60 year old guy to shut up and sit still. No consideration for others. 

What makes PF so convenient is I can use it in every town. And I'm traveling a lot more.  If I regularly went to one with new equipment, sign me up, They have everything I need. But the owner isn't reinvesting in new stuff at the one I attend  It's 2010 land in there.  So I'm 90% sure I'm going back to the old gym.  Why don't I keep both memberships?  Good question, it's about peace in the neighborhood with the wife as Paul McCartney sang on the extremely mediocre Off the Ground album.

Good news is my IT band has completely healed. FINALLY. I'm able to squat all the way down and run.  So I have done some kettlebell workouts at home. Only with 45's.  Need to build up to the 55's.  If I push it, doing front squats and double swings, there is a 100% chance I pop my SI joint. I did 50 front squats last month on a Friday with 45's and then hiked Greylock the following day in a cool 90 minutes. Spent 30.minutes at the top, had lunch and 80 minutes back down.  For the next 5 days I had soreness in my hips, legs and calf muscles that I didn't know existed. I'm also able to run 5 miles.  Speed slowly coming back. 5 miles in 47 minutes on the treadmill, incline at 1.0. Would love to cut it under 45 minutes, but that might be wishful thinking. Don't need to be banging my knees hard trying to to that. Whether looks or physicality, Father Time is and always will be undefeated.  

After Las Vegas, it's back to Hawaii for the 2nd time in 4 months.  Poor me. International Labor Benefits  Conference. This time however, I have to take connecting flights.  Did Boston to Honolulu non-stop in August. Ten and a half hours going out, 9 coming home. Usually I can sleep on a plane. Coming back only slept 45 minutes.  

Air travel is getting worse in the United States.  They are all at fault. So far this year, I've wasted 5 hours delayed in Phoenix because American couldn't produce a crew. 3 hour delay Jet Blue in Fort Myers because Boston wasn't allowing in bound planes in. And I missed a connection going to Portland, OR by 5 minutes and had to sit in Minneapolis for 5 hours.  Thanks Delta.  Plus you get a stale cookie, a half ounce of Cheese-Itz and a cup of soda if you ask for a Diet Coke.  Not exactly white glove service.

Door to door from my house to the hotel in Salem, OR was 15 hours and 45 minutes. Coming back was over 14 and I had to change a flight at the last minute to an earlier flight to Seattle to make my connection home.  What an adventure.  It's so much easier to go to the Catskills or Saratoga to a union conference. Get in my car, drive 3-4 hours and if I get stuck in traffic in the 3rd world highway system of Connecticut, no big deal. 

Looking forward to the black jack table this afternoon before the meetings begin.  You can play a drinking game with the marketing jargon at these meetings. Every one is "super excited," God I hate the word "super" as a modifier.  Or our "robust data," no one can explain the meaning of that. Discuss "healthcare journey's." Is everything a journey these days?  The Bachelor TV show is all about journeys.  And the "stickiness" of our "platform," meaning getting members to log back in. Finally we will have 90 minutes discussing our "product roadmap."  

When I hear "product roadmap," I shut down like people who are terrible with their money having to have a conversation about money.  Show me the value to the prospect of what I'm selling, not the features. Features are only good if they offer value. 

Hopefully I've provided comedic value here of a middle aged man who is fighting a slow down metabolism that has decided to counterpunch me at 56. 

Emptying the Drawer on Fitness

 1. My Planet Fitness gym sucks.  There I said it.  I like Planet Fitness for the most part.  Black card, it's cheap and you can lift anywhere as well as bring a guest.  The one closest to my house is the worst. Dirty, terrible customer service management and OVERCROWDED.  Rules aren't enforced.  People having full conversations and video conferences on speaker in the middle of working out.  Too many kids.  I'm all for the youth exercising, but the ignorance and lack of etiquette is off the charts.  5 kids around a machine, all with their heads buried in the phones like ants around a melted popsicle stick. Plus the place is having plumbing issues and smells like septic.  I'm switching gyms and cancelled my membership.

2. Competition kettlebells are better than cast iron.  Why?  The handle.  All the bells are the same size in shape and in the handle.  When I had my 88 lb. bells, one of the handles was SO BIG it was scary to use.  I had a 3 day membership at a gym I used to attend.  They had a 106 lb. bell and an 88, which were competition bells.  I did 2 hand swings no problem with each.  I had never swung a 106 before.  The bells were so much easier to use because of the handle.  

3. I've stopped participating in fitness forums.  I'm too busy starting my own business and too many stupid questions.  I am sorry the Dan John forum is dead.  Good guys on there.  For example, on StrongFirst, there is a "Team Leader" who is trying to "tame the beast." Meaning, pressing the 106, doing a pullup with one and a pistol squat.  He has leg issues and is trying to figure out how to work his way around the leg issues.  First, pistols are one of the dumbest movements there are.  Do Bulgarian split squats instead.  Second, there are no rewards for being a "beast tamer."  Why do further damage?  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  The Misc.forum on Bodybuilding.com used to bring the LOLS, but now it's just a bunch of incels.

4. My 20-year-old son is into lifting.  He is 6'2 and about 210 lb. with shoulders like an aircraft carrier.  Although he's not really strong, he is filled with testosterone and putting on muscle quickly.  I told him, "don't put anything more than 225 lb. on the bar until you can squat it 20 times."  And, "dumbbell bench press is your friend."  Why get hurt?  Just do reps. 

5. The Prowler is the best conditioning tool there is.  The gym I'm joining has one with a 25 yard field turf area inside it.  10 laps with six 45 lb. plates is one heck of a workout.  Puddle of sweat when I'm finished.  

6. Another new favorite workout is StairMaster intervals.  No hands, 90 seconds level 5, 30 seconds levels 11-15.  20-30 minutes.  The key is no hands.  Hanging on is cheating.  I also like using this method for running as well. 5-6 mph maintenance, 8-9 mph sprint.  Level 1 on incline.

7. Repeat after me, "It's the diet, stupid."

8. Want to lower your cholesterol?  Take a TBS of Metameucil/Psyllium Husk daily.  Glorious and fills you up when you're hungry.

9. For 80% of people over 50, 3x a week total body lifting workout is way to go.  

Why?

a. Hit each body part 3x a week. More than a "bro" split.

b. Get to use different exercises/More Variety Monday Kettlebell Front Squat, Wednesday Back Squat, Friday Hack Squat or Leg Press.

c. More time to recover. You get stronger on your days off.  That doesn't mean doing nothing.  Do 20 minutes of yoga and go for a 3-5-mile walk. 

d. Get to stimulate muscles without annihilating them. But if you insist, do 5 x 5 and then rep out last set.

10. Sets of 20 swings with a 24 kg or higher during rest periods is a nice way to get some conditioning in, if you're crunched for time.  15 sets of snappy swings becomes 300.

11. Geoff Neupert is pushing his Kettlebell Burn Extreme program through email.  If you want to summer shred in a hurry, get it.  It works, it is also an exercise in delayed gratification.  There was a post on Instagram that said, Week 1, day 2 and showed a guy doing double swings.  All I could think was, "let's see how your enthusiasm is, when you're in the midst of a 36-hour fast, staring up at the of faucet of a cold shower.  The workouts are doable.  The intensity progresses as you are losing weight can provide difficulty, but not killers.  What is a pain in the neck is scheduling around a social calendar. I always had issues with the cheat day coming up on the wrong day.  Dinner on Friday night vs. Saturday night.  Having to fast on a Monday instead of the Sunday due to social obligations.  I have completed it twice.  Pro tip, don't have a beer or alcohol on your cheat day.  Just abstain.

12. There has been this trend lately of getting in the habit of getting up at 5 AM.  Just for the sake of discipline.  Just dumb advice. Yes, you can be productive and focus.  BUT, what about recovery?  What is the most important part of recovery?  SLEEP!!!  So, to prove discipline, I'm going to have the alarm set at 5 AM for no reason when my body needs another 90 minutes of sleep.  I get the early bird gets the worm, but I'm not going to bet at 8 PM.  If you're a monk who lives alone with no family, sure, go for it. 

UPDATE on Number 12. Woke up early this AM around 4:43 to empty my bladder . Watched the Celtics game, but went to bed at 10:45 which is a reasonable hour.  Fell back asleep and woke up at 7:20.  And had a great workout at 9.  Sleep > Starting the Day Early.

The Dream is Over (Done with Kettlebells)

Welp, that's a wrap on my favorite fitness tool.  It was a great 14 years, but physically I just cannot use them the way I want to.  And I'm absolutely fine with it.  As the Traveling Wilburys sang, "we're going to the end of the line." 

The good news is physically, I'm well.  My foot issue is pretty much gone and I can run again.  I can go into the gym and do the machines, get a pump and leave without injury.  And at 54, that's what I am accepting.  I'm going to physical therapy for my shoulders.  Intervening on the left one and preventing on the right.  I'm one of the crazy 9% of people who does his physical therapy homework, as boring as those exercises are.  

The issues with kettlebells for me are twofold.  The majority of upper body movements are shoulder related.  (Presses, Snatches, TGU's). I have enough wear and tear on them.  Don't need to aggravate the situation doing The Giant.  Second, I can squat, BUT.....I don't like the clicking of my arthritis holding the bells in the rack and I've popped SI joints dropping my hips back when fatigued.  

All that I can do without getting hurt are 2 hand swings. Which I still do at the gym, but that's it.  Monday, I had this grand idea at the end of the day to do some cleans and presses. Double 55's, sets of 2, auto regulated rest.  Got to 15 minutes, did my 12th set and barely got the last rep up.  My older son, said, "what the hell are you doing and why?'  He was absolutely correct.

Which leads us to my next point.  It does not matter what program you do.  If the diet stinks, you're not going to get results.  For 30 years, I've been between 180 and 197.  It doesn't matter, if I do kettlebells, pick ANY program, 5/3/1, bodybuilding, 5 x 5, running 30 miles a week.  Unless you lock in the diet, the results will not be there.  

There are 0 victories for 1 rep maxes other than injuries. Unless you're on steroids or testosterone replacement therapy, you're not going to gain muscle after 40.  You can get stronger, but that's it.  My 20 year old is into lifting.  He's filled with high testosterone, is 6'2", 205 lb. and has shoulders like an aircraft carrier.  He's not strong yet, but aesthetically looks fantastic.  He's getting all my unsolicited advice, like a letter to my 20 year old self.

1.     Don't barbell bench.  Use dumbbells and supinate the grip.  
2.     Don't 1 rep max.  Do reps in the 5-12 rep scheme with good form
3.     Leave a rep or two in the tank every set.
4.     Don't waste your time chasing deadlift maxes
5.     Do pullups.  A set of 1-2 between sets of everything else.
6.     High rep back squats are wonderful
7.     Do your cardio.  1-2 mile runs or 200 swings
8.     You get strong on rest days.
9.      Supplements are a waste of money. 

The best results I've ever gotten from a program was Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Burn Extreme.  Why?  Because it has the diet right there. Workouts were manageable 20-25 minute long.  BUT the nutrition and cold showers were rough.  The diet works.  Really, really well.

I feel like John Lennon singing God.  He rips off 15 different things he doesn't believe in including Beatles.  "I just believe in me."  

I'm still going to blog about fitness here, but if you've come to see any updates about the ROP, MKM or anything else regarding kettlebells other than 300 swings a day, look elsewhere.  

Daily 45-60 minute walks

Yoga 2 x a week

Planet Fitness machine workouts + run for 20-30 minutes

Shoulder exercises for PT.  That's it for now

Cue up Glory Days, These were done in 2013 at my old house at the ripe young age of 44. "When I was young and stupid, I was young and stupid." George Bush

Double 70 Press Rep Test

88 lb. Turkish Get Up

This does not come from a place of unhappiness.  It just is reality.  What else is reality is The Beach Boys Pet Sounds is the greatest thing I've ever listened to on a rock and roll record.  Put a pair of headphones on and listen to all the different sounds. I discovered it, while in Florida at the pool in January. Yes, I'm completely late to the party.  Way better than the overrated Revolver and was the inspiration for Sgt Pepper which is dogged by the horrible, Within You Without You. The only scar on Pet Sounds is Brian Wilson used the Wrecking Crew as his backup musicians for most of the album.  While the Beatles played their instruments.  Put on Pepper and listen to Ringo's drumming and Paul's bass, they're amazing.